Former world champion boxer Dwight Muhammad Qawi dies at 72

Former two-division world champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, has died at age 72.

His sister, Wanda King, said Qawi died on Friday after a five-year battle with dementia.

"He was a great father, a great Pop-Pop to his grandchildren," King told BoxingScene. "He had a heart of gold, and he fought his dementia illness just like he was fighting in the ring."

Qawi, who was born Dwight Braxton in Baltimore, was raised in Camden, N.J., and learned to box at Rahway State Prison while sentenced for armed robbery and turned professional after his release in 1978.

He won world titles at light heavyweight and cruiserweight, though he was small for those divisions at 5-foot-7. The powerfully-built Qawi -- he legally changed his name after converting to Islam in 1982 -- defeated 175-pound champion Matthew Saad Muhammad on a 10th-round stoppage for the WBC light heavyweight crown in December 1981. Qawi won the rematch in six rounds in August 1982.

Nicknamed "The Camden Buzzsaw," Qawi lost to WBA champion Michael Spinks in a unification bout in March 1983 and moved up to cruiserweight, defeating champion Piet Crous in July 1985.

Evander Holyfield took his belt in a 15-rounder by split decision in July 1986, regarded as one of the greatest cruiserweight fights of all time. Holyfield won the rematch in December 1987, and Qawi moved up to heavyweight, where he lost to George Foreman in March 1988.

Qawi fought his last bout in 1998 and retired at age 46, finishing with a record of 41-11-1 with 25 knockouts. The International Boxing Hall of Fame inducted him in 2004.

He trained boxers and was a youth advocate and drug and alcohol counselor in New Jersey after his fighting days ended.

"He went out like a champ," King told BoxingScene, "right to the end."

--Field Level Media